“You do realize I have a job and a life?” Maria Victoria asked the following morning.Fernando wouldn’t let her leave. He’d gone to bed, and she’d tried to stay awake as long as possible. She’d hoped to kick down the door or figure out his code. Nothing worked. In the end, Fernando had gotten up, dragged her to bed, and kept an arm around her waist while he had fallen asleep. She had hoped to stop him from sleeping, but exhaustion had claimed her, and she’d been enjoying some sweet dreams.Now, she was wide awake, sitting at Fernando’s dining room table, enjoying a morning cup of coffee and a bowl of sweet cereal. She never usually liked sweet cereal, but this one wasn’t too bad.“Your job and life ended when your father asked me for a favor.”“And let me guess, whatever Dante says, you jump at the chance? What kind of capo are you?”She hoped insulting him would help him choose to get rid of her. Instead, for her trouble, she got a raised eyebrow. How did he do that without even tryi

Maria Victoria was a virgin, but Fernando didn’t need to know that. He was already getting everything he wanted and she was … well, she didn’t know what she was or wasn’t getting.Yes, she was getting married, and her home would remain hers, but other than that, her whole life was going to change. It had already changed. Fernando had gone with her to work, where she had to hand in her immediate notice of resignation. This was part of Fernando Giordano’s deal. He’d leave them all alone and allow Boris to keep his bar, but she had to quit work. This was hard.Handing in her notice felt like the first door of her cage was locked. Fernando was pushing her into a place she had no part in, and it was scaring her. Still, she forced a smile as she handed in her notice, and introduced Boris Koslov to Fernando, as well as Alessandro, and a couple of others. She was closest to Boris and Alessandro.After that, Fernando made her collect some of her belongings from the house. This turned out to b

Maria Victoria had felt hate before. Times were growing up where she hated her father with a fiery passion. Her mother had always told her it was a wasted emotion. That the only person she was hurting was herself. To hate someone wasn’t a good feeling to have.Nicole had never hated anyone, not even Dante. She had forgiven him and made peace with it all, but she would never forget.“How does that help? You’re still here and he’s still there.”“But I’m happy, Maria Victoria. Can’t you see that? I’ve got you? He doesn’t have me, and he doesn’t have you. I can’t hate him.”Maria Victoria had never understood what her mother was talking about, not until that moment. Nibbling her lip, she looked at Fernando Giordano, and she hated him. His words were cold and cruel, but she realized he was right. The past twenty-four hours, she’d given up. The dress she wore, though beautiful, wasn’t one she would choose.If she allowed Fernando Giordano to have his way, she’d lose everything her mother ha

Before she knew what was happening, he’d slammed his lips down on hers. What the hell was this? The kiss was hotter than any she’d ever experienced. Counting the church, this was the fourth time Fernando had kissed her. This was different, though.She clenched her hands into fists, hoping her body denied him. The last thing she wanted was to give in to him.Why fight?Why make it hard?Enjoy it.This is your life.But it was a life she didn’t want.Fernando grabbed her hands and wrapped them around his neck. She had no idea what she was doing. She didn’t even know if she wanted to touch him. Her world felt all over the place, and she didn’t know what to do to gain control of it. She hated feeling so open and exposed. Raw even.He ran his hands down her body, curving toward her ass, and drew her close. The towel he wore didn’t stop her from feeling the hard ridge of his cock as it pressed against her stomach.“I’m going to blow your mind,” he said. “All you’ve got to do is trust me. Do

His movements were so incredibly slow. Inch, by inch, he moved inside her, and there was no pain. It was an ache, but she was so wet, and there was a point when she felt her impatience start to build. She didn’t want him to go slow, and then she thrust back against him, not wanting him to stop. He held her hips even tighter. She had a feeling there were going to be bruises from how tight he held her. Fernando Giordano gave a truly memorable fucking“You’re being a little impatient, baby. This isn’t hurting you?”“No!”She wanted to scream at him to fuck her, but instead, she gritted her teeth and tried to calm herself. Nothing was working.“Is this what you want?” Fernando asked. He held onto her hips and then drove hard and deep inside her.Maria Victoria gasped and thrust back against him, not wanting him to stop. It felt so good. He slowed down, with his cock to the hilt inside her.“Don’t stop!”“I’m not hurting you?” he asked.“No,” she growled out the word.“Then would my lady l